The Hen’s night formula

Lastminute lovely Kirsty’s mission: a classy hens weekend to reclaim our youth without loosing our dignity. No strippers!… Challenge accepted.

Hen’s nights usually make me cringe. I don’t know why. I love getting together with my BFFs for cocktails, but there is something about penis straws, pink veils and mother-in-laws doing body shots off a stripper that doesn’t sit well. So when it finally came time for my girlfriends and I to host a hen’s of our own, we approached with caution.

As a group of 30 plus ladies, we’re too old for our beautiful bride-to-be to parade around Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley with her underpants on the outside and a ripped veil, so we aimed higher and I think we came up with a winning formula.

Mint Resort & Apartments”

Step 1 – Stick together. The team needs base camp. We opted for a fab, spacious three-bedroom apartment at Mint Resort & Apartments.

It was a nice reminder of how pretty the Brisbane River is. I think we all made a mental note to do little jaunts in the city more often. With our great view of the river we indulged in afternoon canapés and champagne before getting ready for the party. Having somewhere to walk to afterwards, was so much more civilised than the cab queues in the city.

Step 2 – Find a good location and avoid compulsory price tags. We didn’t want to send a bill with the invitations (we all have enough these days), so opted for meeting at cocktail bar and splitting the cost of the hors d’oeuvres. Everyone paid for their own drinks and there was no transferring of funds or chasing down people on the night. We chose the Sky Room in Fortitude Valley, where we were permitted to dominate a corner of the bar.

Step 3 – Add essential memorabilia. Our bride-to-be was given a veil, however we opted for simple badges to indicate who was in the group and give everyone a keepsake. After a few cosmopolitans, these badges were in-demand items from fellow cocktail bar goers. Lucky the minimum order quantity was 50 so we handed them out willingly to anyone who wanted to celebrate Carly’s hen’s.

Champagne breakfast”

Step 4 – Do something unique. Adding an activity we all loved was the highlight of the weekend. We opted for a music festival the following day at the Brisbane River Stage with just the besties. This not only extended our fun times, it gave us an excuse to have a champagne breakfast. As luck would have it, the bar we attended the previous evening was the setting for the band’s pre-event party.

TV on the Radio guitarist
Kyp Malone”

Ever the opportunists, we were able to convince a few of the band members to wear our badges on stage the next day…. The enthusiasm from the previous night did seem to have waned from most of them but I am proud to present you with evidence of TV on the Radio’s lead guitarist sporting our badge.
Even with our slight hangovers we did our best 30-plus rocking out to these guys. Music festivals might not be your cup of tea, but there are some awesome things you can organise from high tea to life drawing and photography classes. The key is something that you’ll all appreciate.
So there you have it my hens party success formula with no strippers included.

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